Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006) - Iceland (2006)

Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006) z Iceland (2006)

	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006)	Iceland (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick	8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra, Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.7% (male 16,007/female 15,426) 15-64 years: 66.9% (male 40,676/female 38,155) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,315/female 4,269) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 21.7% (male 33,021/female 32,021) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 100,944/female 98,239) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 15,876/female 19,287) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish	potatoes, green vegetables; mutton, dairy products; fish
Airports	6 (2006)	98 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2006)	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)	total: 93 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 61 (2006)
Area	total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 103,000 sq km land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km
Area - comparative	twice the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Kentucky
Background	Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.	Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards.
Birth rate	16.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	13.64 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $94.6 million expenditures: $85.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $6.995 billion expenditures: $6.761 billion; including capital expenditures of $467 million (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Kingstown geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Reykjavik geographic coordinates: 64 09 N, 21 57 W time difference: UTC (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)	temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
Coastline	84 km	4,970 km
Constitution	27 October 1979	16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	conventional long form: Republic of Iceland conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydveldid Island local short form: Island
Death rate	5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$223 million (2004)	$3.073 billion (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	chief of mission: Ambassador Carol VAN VOORST embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Department of State, 5640 Reykjavik Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-5640 telephone: [354] 562-9100 FAX: [354] 562-9118
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea	Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
Economic aid - donor	-	$6.7 million $NA
Economic aid - recipient	$10.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2004)	-
Economy - overview	Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America.	Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 4% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the current account deficit, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, and diversifying the economy. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Growth had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and estimates call for strong growth until 2007, slowly dropping until the end of the decade.
Electricity - consumption	88.35 million kWh (2003)	8.619 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	95 million kWh (2003)	8.619 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,110 m (at Vatnajokull glacier)
Environment - current issues	pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive	water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%	homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6%
Exchange rates	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)	Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 62.982 (2005), 70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003), 91.662 (2002), 97.425 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister	chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Geir H. HAARDE (since 7 June 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: president, largely a ceremonial post, is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits); election last held 26 June 2004 (next to be held June 2008); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON 85.6%, Baldur AGUSTSSON 12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9%
Exports	NA bbl/day	0 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets	fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
Exports - partners	France 50.3%, Italy 21%, Greece 11%, US 4.2% (2005)	UK 17.9%, Germany 16.4%, Netherlands 13%, US 8.1%, Spain 7.7%, Denmark 4.3% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern	blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 8.6% industry: 15% services: 76.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.9% (2005 est.)	5.6% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	13 15 N, 61 12 W	65 00 N, 18 00 W
Geography - note	the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays	strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	15,470 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels	machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports - partners	France 36.1%, Singapore 12.5%, Italy 11.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.9%, US 7.2% (2005)	Germany 13.4%, US 9.1%, Sweden 8.6%, Denmark 7.3%, Norway 7.2%, UK 5.9%, China 5.3%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 4.7% (2005)
Independence	27 October 1979 (from UK)	1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.9% (1997 est.)	14.2% (2005 est.)
Industries	food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch	fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production; geothermal power, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 3.29 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1% (2005 est.)	4% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO	Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)	Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice)
Labor force	41,680 (1991 est.)	165,900 (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 26% industry: 17% services: 57% (1980 est.)	agriculture: 10.3% industry: 18.3% services: 71.4% (2003)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 17.95% permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2005)	arable land: 0.07% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.93% (2005)
Languages	English, French patois	Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Legal system	based on English common law	civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3	unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31%, Progressive Party 17.7%, Left-Green Movement 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party - Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.85 years male: 71.99 years female: 75.77 years (2006 est.)	total population: 80.31 years male: 78.23 years female: 82.48 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago	Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Arctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 589 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,449,699 GRT/8,051,250 DWT by type: bulk carrier 106, cargo 351, chemical tanker 5, container 20, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 38, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 529 (Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 17, Canada 6, China 103, Croatia 9, Cyprus 1, Czech Republic registered in other countries: 1 (Comoros 1) (2006)	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 3,354 GRT/480 DWT by type: passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 8, Bahamas 1, Belize 2, Faroe Islands 4, Gibraltar 1, Malta 4, Norway 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10) (2006)
Military - note	-	under a 1951 bilateral agreement, Iceland's defense was provided by a US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered in Keflavik; in October 2006, all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn; nonetheless, the US and Iceland signed a Joint Understanding to strengthen their bilateral defense relationship, including regular security consultations, military communications in the event of national emergencies, annual bilateral exercises on Icelandic territory, and future bilateral and NATO support to four Iceland Air Defense System (IADS) radar sites
Military branches	no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard (2005)	no regular armed forces; Icelandic National Police, Icelandic Coast Guard (Islenska Landhelgisgaeslan) subordinate to Ministry of Justice, Icelandic Crisis Response Unit (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	0
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	0%
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 October (1979)	Independence Day, 17 June (1944)
Nationality	noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian	noun: Icelander(s) adjective: Icelandic
Natural hazards	hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat	earthquakes and volcanic activity
Natural resources	hydropower, cropland	fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite
Net migration rate	-7.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	1.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)	Independence Party or IP [Geir HAARDE]; Left-Green Movement or LGM [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON - will step down in August 2006]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun GISLADOTTIR]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	117,848 (July 2006 est.)	299,388 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	0.26% (2006 est.)	0.87% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)
Religions	Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant	Lutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%, other Christian 2.7%, other or unspecified 3.8%, unaffiliated 2.4% (2004)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: adequate system domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: country code - 1-784; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia	general assessment: extensive domestic service domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden)
Telephones - main lines in use	22,500 (2005)	193,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	70,600 (2005)	304,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)	14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	volcanic, mountainous	mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
Total fertility rate	1.83 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.92 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	15% (2001 est.)	2.1% (2005 est.)

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